Networking Articles

by The Networking Gurus, Donna Feldman and Cindy Rold

Business Networking Events: How to Know Where to Go

Business Networking Events: How to Know Where to Go

You've heard all the buzz about networking being one of the best ways to grow your business or advance your career and you're ready to give it a try. You know it’s through your relationships with other people that you will make the connections you need to be successful in your career or business.

But how do you find these places to network? What do you need to get ready before you go to a networking event? What's the best way to work the room once you're there? And when it's all over, what kind of follow up should you do?

Don't worry, help is here! This four-part series of networking tips will focus on 1) finding places to network, 2) preparing to go to an event, 3) working the room once you're at an event, and 4) how to follow up once the event is over.

This month's networking tip focuses on how to find places to network. To find networking opportunities, it helps if first you know who you want to meet. Once you know that, it's easy to discover where to go. Start by creating a list of the type of people you want in your network. Ask yourself:

Who do I want to build relationships with? Customers, clients, colleagues, competitors? People from a specific industry or profession?
What interests do these people share?
Where do they spend time?

Networking opportunities occur almost every day, practically anywhere and at anytime. You've got your business functions, chamber events, the golf course, association meetings, and leads groups. And that's just the beginning. What about your athletic club, your yoga class, the PTA, the chair lift or an airplane?

You can network at any of these places, and we recommend that you do, however, there are at least five types of groups where you can go to grow your network:

1. Business Networking Groups
2. Leads Groups
3. Professional Associations/Industry Specific Groups
4. Community Service Groups
5. Special Interest Groups

1. Business Networking Groups
A wide variety of groups fall within this category, most of them meeting monthly. These groups are set up for the primary purpose of networking and usually include people from a mix of industries. They may meet at breakfast, lunch, or after work. Some groups have a structured format, while others have an unstructured mix and mingle format. Some require membership and allow guests; others are open to anyone and everyone. If you are shy, you may find that groups with a more structured format work better for you than the informal mixers and receptions.

2. Leads Groups
The primary purpose of a Leads Group is to exchange leads and contacts. These groups tend to meet weekly, usually at breakfast or lunch, and have a very structured format, which can be good if you're shy or new to networking. Leads groups require membership and are "exclusive," meaning that only one member in each category of business can join. Each group will have only one financial advisor, one coach, one massage therapist, one realtor, and so on. There are private Leads Groups and Leads Groups within most Chambers of Commerce.

3. Professional Associations/Industry Specific Groups
These groups are organized around an industry or a profession. While networking happens at these events, their primary purpose is usually educational. These are a great place to meet colleagues or competitors. You could also attend the groups your prospects, clients, or referral partners belong to.

4. Community Service Groups
A large number of public and private organizations exist whose main purpose is providing service to others. There are charitable or fund raising groups, civic, community, political and religious groups, to name a few. These groups allow you to meet like-minded people and to contribute at the same time.

5. Special Interest Groups
These are the fun groups! Another way to meet people is to participate in activities of personal interest to you. Whatever your interest, there's probably a group you can join. You'll find book clubs, chess clubs, and hiking clubs. There are dance classes, yoga classes, volleyball leagues, and more.

Now that you know who you want to meet and what types of groups these people might attend, it's time for you to find some events to go to.

Here are five ways for you to begin creating your own list of places to network:

1. The easiest way to find networking events is to ask people. Ask your friends and colleagues if they belong to any groups or attend any networking events and let them know you're interested in going with them.

2. Your local newspaper or business journal will often list business networking events, but more and more these papers are publishing this list online rather than in their printed paper.

3. The Internet is a good place to look for events. Typing “networking events [your city name]” into a search engine will pull up a variety of events.

4. You can also look in the Yellow Pages or directories of associations for the names of associations and professional organizations. Your local library will have copies of these directories.

5. If you live in the Denver area, one of the easiest ways to find a comprehensive listing of business networking events is to subscribe to our free e-mail newsletter, The Networking Gurus News, a monthly listing of all major networking events in the Denver area. You can view it and subscribe online at http://thenetworkinggurus.com.

To decide which groups to attend, ask yourself some or all of the following questions:

What kind of people attend?

How often does the group meet?

What is the usual structure of the meeting?

Is there usually a speaker?

How much time is allotted for actual networking?

How many people typically attend?

What is the cost of attending?

What are the time, place and dates of upcoming meetings?

Once you have gone through this process, you will be set to find groups that are right for you and your networking needs. Enjoy, and happy networking. Be sure to read next month’s tip, which will tell you how to prepare for an event before you go.

Pre-Event Strategies: Prepare & Plan

In last month's tip we talked about how to find the best networking events to grow your business. But once you’ve picked an event, what can you do to prepare for a positive and productive networking experience?

This month’s tip focuses on 7 pre-event planning steps you can take to feel even more confident as you enter the room at your next networking event.

Pursue a Purpose

What are your reasons for choosing the specific event you plan to attend? You will have more success if you attend with a purpose other than general networking.

We often attend an event with a specific purpose in mind. Sometimes we challenge ourselves to meet a certain number of people with whom we want to arrange a one-on-one follow-up meeting. Other times, we attend events just to stay visible, reconnect with business acquaintances, or touch base with our social network and have fun, not to sell our services. What is your purpose for attending this event?

Create a Challenge - Go for a Goal!

Once you know your purpose, make a commitment to yourself for this event, such as:

Meet and talk with 3 new people

Introduce 2 people to each other

Meet the speaker

Make at least 2 really good contacts

Give 2 referrals

Solicit Support

If you're nervous about going to a networking event, you might find a friend, colleague or business acquaintance to go with you or to meet you at the event. Better yet, find someone who is either a member of the group or has been to that particular event before and can introduce you to people.

When going with a friend, don't use that person as a crutch. Make an agreement to introduce people to each other and to invite others into your conversations. Know that if you stay glued to your friend’s side all evening, others might not approach you, assuming that you are together and not open to meeting new people.

If you don't know anyone at an event, you can seek out the host or organizer. Introduce yourself, tell them who you are interested in meeting, and ask if they will help you with some introductions to some of the members or attendees.

Be an Early Bird

It's always a good plan to arrive early to an event. That way, the host, or people working the registration desk will have more time to talk with you and introduce you around. The event will be less crowded and it will be easier to meet and talk with people. Ideally, you will have pre-registered, so a printed nametag will be waiting for you, and you will have saved money as well.

Craft Your Conversations

You need to plan and prepare to talk to people! Although you want to be spontaneous, it helps to know in advance some things that you can say, either in response to common questions or as a way to generate conversation yourself.

What will you say when you're asked the inevitable question "What do you do?" Will you freeze up and suddenly find yourself unable to tell them what it is you do every single day? You need to have a short prepared introduction that lets people know who you are, what you do, who you do it for, and who you want to meet.

Prepare your small talk, your opening lines, your get-to-know-you questions and answers. It's easy to start with questions like:

What brought you to this event?

How does it compare to other events that you've been to?

I'm new here, what can you tell me about this group?

Hello, I don't think we've met yet, I'm Cindy and you are?

Plan answers to questions like "How are you?" "What's new?" You could talk about a great new resource you've found, a client you've helped, a win you've just had, or a challenge you are facing in your business.

Pack Your Networking Toolkit

What do you need to bring? Business cards, and lots of them! Just this week Donna was at an event where one person told her he had left his cards in his car, and another person said he was down to just one card. Don't let this happen to you. Without your card, the people you meet have no way to contact you; they're dependent upon you choosing to or remembering to contact them.

Bring a pen to make notes on the back of cards you receive, paper in case you want to jot down some ideas, your business name tag if you have one, your calendar, your introduction, some conversation starters, a few exit lines, and a positive attitude.

You're On Your Way!

While you’re traveling to the event, put a smile on your face, engage in positive self-talk, remind yourself of your purpose in going to the event and the commitment you made to yourself. Then when you arrive, you will walk into the room with an air of confidence and calm and will get the most possible out of the event.

And, if you're wondering what to do once you get there. . . look for next month's tip on Working the Room.

Working the Room at a Networking Event

In last month's tip we talked about preparing and planning to attend a networking event. This month’s tip focuses on how you can work the room to make the most of your experience while you’re at an event.

When you go to events where you don’t know anyone, do you feel like the proverbial wallflower? You're not alone, we've certainly felt that way at events we attended in the past.

Now, though, we find it much easier to meet and talk to people at almost any type of event. We weren't always the Networking Gurus, and if we can learn how to work a room, so can you. This tip will help you begin to learn the art to working a room.

1. Good Intentions

First, set the intention that you will have fun and meet good people. Expect people to be nice, welcoming and easy to talk to. Assume that everyone is there for the same reason as you--to meet new people. Be curious and ask questions.

2. Your Entrance & Your Introduction

When you arrive at the event, chat with the person at the registration table. This will put you at ease, make you feel you have an ally in the room, and perhaps give you information about who else is there. You might even ask for their help in meeting people. Use your 30 second introduction to tell them who you are and who you want to meet at the event. State your goal. Try this after your introduction:

"I'm new and would like to meet _________. Can you help me with some introductions?"

Tip: Wear your nametag on your right side. That way, people easily see it when they shake your hand. Hold your drink in your left hand, so you're ready to shake with your right.

3. Mix & Mingle

Instead of standing in a corner waiting for people to find you, make yourself an unofficial greeter. Stand by the door and talk to people as they arrive. Smile, walk up to someone arriving, and shake hands. Introduce yourself, and fill them in. “You can put your coat there, drinks are there, food is across the room. What brought you here today?”

Be a conversation starter. The easiest way is simply to walk up to an individual or a group, offer your hand, and say, “Hi, I’m [your name]”. People respond well to a genuine, straightforward approach. Use some of the opening lines and starters you learned in last month's tip. Above all else, when you’re starting a conversation, be yourself. Act as if you belong, because you do.

Be accessible for others to approach you. You can do this through smiling, meeting people’s eyes, nodding, and standing in a central position, rather than in the corner.

Be interested, not interesting. Show interest by nodding and meeting the eyes of the person you’re talking to. Don’t scan the room looking for someone “better.”

4. Keep it Going

To keep a conversation from dying after the initial exchange of "Hi, how are yous?", use the following techniques.

When asked a yes/no question, respond in a way that keeps the conversation going. Instead of saying, "yes, or no," to "Did you have a hard time finding this location?" say, "it was really easy for me to find since I used to live three blocks from here."

Come prepared with responses to these inevitable questions: "How are you?"

"How's life/business/work?"

"What's been going on?"

Short answers such as "Fine," "Good," "Nothing much," won't advance the conversation because they don't give the questioner anything to build on. Instead, have something interesting to say that will keep the conversation going.

"My wife and I just got back from a wonderful trip to the Grand Canyon."

"Our business is expanding so much that it's providing real challenges in terms of staffing."

"I've been doing a lot of hiking this summer."

Phrase your own questions in a way that can't be answered with just one word. Instead of "Did you enjoy the presenter?", ask "How did you find the presenter's topic?" If you get a short reply, follow up with "What did you find most interesting about the presentation?"

5. Moving On

Although networking is about forming relationships, when you are at an event, you want to circulate the room and meet as many people as possible. That means spending no more than 5-10 minutes with any one person.

Once you have talked to someone for a short time, even if you find that person fascinating, recognize that it is time for both of you to move on and meet others. You can excuse yourself by using some of the following statements:

"It was nice meeting you. Enjoy the event."

"I’ve challenged myself to meet 5 people tonight and I still need to meet 3 more.

It’s been nice talking to you."

“I’m going to refresh my drink.”

After you’ve ended a conversation with someone, immediately engage in a conversation with someone else. Just repeat the process you used before - walk up to another individual or group and introduce yourself. There’s nothing worse than excusing yourself from one conversation and then standing by yourself waiting for someone to come up to you.

6. Until We Meet Again

If you want to be in touch with the person you’re talking to, ask for their business card. Carry a pen in case the other person doesn’t have a card. You can then offer to let them write on the back of yours.

Getting the other person’s business card is even more important than giving your own, because it allows you to follow up and make the next contact. Don’t assume that just because the other person took your card, he will call you.

When you meet someone you'd like to spend more time with, make an appointment to get together at a later date.

If you use these simple tips at the next event you attend, you’ll find yourself being the belle of the ball rather than the fly on the wall.

And, if you're wondering what to do once you leave the event. . . look for next month's tip on Following Up.

Following Up with People You Meet
This is the fourth article in our four-part series about networking. The first three articles covered the following topics:

· Finding the best networking events to grow your business

· Preparing and planning to attend a networking event

· Working the room at a networking event

This month’s topic covers what to do after you have engaged in the first three steps. How do you follow up with or stay in touch with the people you meet?

The most important principle to remember here is what we have emphasized repeatedly - networking is about establishing relationships with people, not just contacting them once to try to sell your services. It’s about depth, not about breadth.

Decide Who to Stay in Touch With

When you return from an event, the first thing to do is to sort through the business cards you collected and decide who you want to stay in touch with.

Having a business card does not require continuing contact. Give yourself the freedom to throw a card away or to decide that you are not going to make an effort to stay in touch with someone. Not everyone is a good match for you or your business. You’re far better off to decide that early on rather than spend the time being in touch and then figure out you don’t want them in your contact management system.

Develop criteria for sorting the cards you collect. Who do you want to stay in touch with? Who did you meet who might be a prospective client, a good source of referrals, or a useful source of information? We suggest you follow up immediately with all your hot prospects, warm prospects, and useful referral sources. If you have cards left when you're done, and you don't intend to follow up with these people, feel free to toss the cards. Those people don't belong in your system.

Recognize that if you meet, for example, 20 people at an event, it will be difficult to follow up with all of them if you are really establishing a relationship with each person. So be selective about who you will maintain contact with and how you will maintain that contact. It’s easy to add 20 people to an e-mail newsletter list (if you have their permission); it’s not as easy to add 20 people to the list of calls you are making once a month.

Capture Information

Enter the people you have identified as good relationship partners into your contact management system. Your contact management system can be as simple as Microsoft Outlook. Whatever system you use, it should have a place to capture basic information about the person – name, address, phone, e-mail, and fax.

Ideally, it will also have a place to enter some brief information about how and when you met and what you discussed, so you can refresh your memory for later contacts.

Calendar Your Next Follow-Up

While entering the information, decide right then how often you want to follow up with the person - once a week, once a month, once a quarter, etc. Enter that into your contact management system as well. A hot prospect you might want to contact again in one week. Another person you might want to contact once a quarter. Someone else you might decide you will contact in a month.

There is no definite rule for how often to follow up with people. Just use your intuition and judgment about a good sequence of follow-up depending on your business and the connection you feel with the other person.

Follow Up

Follow up immediately with the people you have entered into your contact management system. There are many ways to follow up, including:

* Write a note saying how nice it was to meet them and mentioning something from your conversation.

* Send an e-mail.

* Make a phone call.

* Schedule a meeting.

* Mail an item of interest.

If you have a newsletter, white paper, or article that is particularly relevant to your target audience, mention it when you meet and ask permission to send it to them. That’s a great way to build a connection and to have a reason to stay in touch.

Follow up again when your contact management system tells you it's time. You can use any of the follow-up techniques listed above for your second follow-up. Sometimes you might call at a random time where you think you will get their voice mail to say that you are thinking about the person. You don’t ask for or expect a call back; you’re just calling to renew your connection.

Repeat

Keep repeating this system over and over again. After you do your second follow-up, decide right then when you want to follow-up with that person again and put that in your contact management system so it will remind you.

Once you put a system in place, you will find that keeping in touch with people is relatively effortless.

This month, we challenge you to create and commit to a plan of action for your follow-up activities. Here's a sample plan:

Daily:

* Enter new contacts into your contact management system.

* Send nice to meet you notes or emails within 24 hours of meeting someone.

* Call one person you have not been in touch with recently.

Weekly:
* Schedule lunch or coffee with a new contact or with a friend, colleague or client you

have not seen in awhile.
* Send a card to someone just because you're thinking of them.

Monthly:
* Review and update your contact management system with any changes you need to

make.
* Create a list of people you want to connect with in the coming month.

Conclusion

When you follow the four steps of networking that we have outlined in our four articles: Finding the best networking events to grow your business, preparing and planning to attend a networking event, working the room at a networking event, and following up with people you meet, you will become a master networker in no time and will see your network of contacts grow from 1 to 1000.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about any one of the topics we have covered in this series.

About the Authors

Donna Feldman and Cindy Rold are The Networking Gurus. They are both certified professional coaches who run Get Clients Now!^TM marketing groups and provide individual coaching. They help business professionals grow their businesses, be more successful, and achieve their goals.

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